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Of Videos and Canada Day
Jul. 1st, 2002 01:58 pmLong holiday weekend here and i have tomorrow off in lieu of having to work friday. Went to Blockbuster intending to rent The Others (many people have said it was good) and The Shipping News (It was partly filmed here in Halifax and in Newfoundland) and i didnt' get either. Saw many others i fancied before i even got to the O's. I got four, have seen two so far. Room to Rent is a UK production about an Egyptian man, a writer who takes things that happen around him mainly to his roommates and writes about them, barely disguising events and embellishing them. This gets him chucked out of his room and he finds a room with a gay photographer which leads him to a room with a Marilyn Monroe impersonator which leads him to a room with an older lady who's convinced he's the reincarnation of her Egyptian lover from the 1930's. Interesting ending.
Next up was The Anniversary Party. That's about a hollywood couple played by Alan Cuming and Jennifer Jason Leigh who are celebrating their sixth anniversary just a few months after they had been split and reconciled. Their friends, a neighbour couple and an actress taht Alan's character will soon be directing gather to help them celebrate. It's a scathing look at Hollywood and friendships. Secrets, alliances, regret and jealousy are all featured. The neighbours are not friends, but a contentious and prickly couple invited to attempt to smooth over conflicts arising from long standing neighbourly like issues. The ensemble cast is really quite good, even Gwyneth Paltrow plays the shallow gushing starlet quite well (typecasting perhaps? LOL) By the end of the evening things seem to bottom out and some really painful things are revealed and it's almost that painful to watch but the performances are good and it's well worth a look.
The other two videos are an Italian subtitled movie called "Bread and Tulips" and one by James Ivory (of Merchant and Ivory fame) called the Golden Bowl. Historical Edwardian era but i like that sort of thing. Stay tuned for comments on those.
Then there's Canada Day. I always plan to partake in some of the stuff going on and i never do. there's a free concert later on though that i may take in, at least some of it. There's a beer garden (wahey) and at 6 the Irish Descendants are playing. I think i'd like to see that. After that are the 70's Canadian band Stampeders. ugh. Very poppy, very bouncy, ok in its time and probably a baby boom crowd pleaser still. Think i'll pass on this one but it means i'll miss the fireworks later on. Still, leaving early i'll beat the traffic gridlock. And the fireworks are never that spectacular round here anyway.
Next up was The Anniversary Party. That's about a hollywood couple played by Alan Cuming and Jennifer Jason Leigh who are celebrating their sixth anniversary just a few months after they had been split and reconciled. Their friends, a neighbour couple and an actress taht Alan's character will soon be directing gather to help them celebrate. It's a scathing look at Hollywood and friendships. Secrets, alliances, regret and jealousy are all featured. The neighbours are not friends, but a contentious and prickly couple invited to attempt to smooth over conflicts arising from long standing neighbourly like issues. The ensemble cast is really quite good, even Gwyneth Paltrow plays the shallow gushing starlet quite well (typecasting perhaps? LOL) By the end of the evening things seem to bottom out and some really painful things are revealed and it's almost that painful to watch but the performances are good and it's well worth a look.
The other two videos are an Italian subtitled movie called "Bread and Tulips" and one by James Ivory (of Merchant and Ivory fame) called the Golden Bowl. Historical Edwardian era but i like that sort of thing. Stay tuned for comments on those.
Then there's Canada Day. I always plan to partake in some of the stuff going on and i never do. there's a free concert later on though that i may take in, at least some of it. There's a beer garden (wahey) and at 6 the Irish Descendants are playing. I think i'd like to see that. After that are the 70's Canadian band Stampeders. ugh. Very poppy, very bouncy, ok in its time and probably a baby boom crowd pleaser still. Think i'll pass on this one but it means i'll miss the fireworks later on. Still, leaving early i'll beat the traffic gridlock. And the fireworks are never that spectacular round here anyway.
